Presenting: Capolow
You never know what will influence you. For Capolow, he was a kid with an older brother who rapped for fun. Watching his sibling spit rhymes as an East Oakland youth eventually led to Capolow telling his big bro he wanted to make a song when he was 13. It was off to the races from there. Amid positive feedback at his middle school, Cap continued to rap, choosing this path because of his aforementioned sibling and the 1992 animated film Bébé's Kids. By the time he was in 11th grade in 2014, the West Coast rapper teamed up with several local rhymers to form the Bay Area rap group Trill Youngins, known for their 2015 sparkly, synth-filled regional hit "I Look Fly." In the ensuing years, all of the members decided to do solo work, leading right into Capolow making his own path.
In 2018, things started to pick up for him, with his songs "Highway Robbery" and the Ella Mai-sampling, FeezyDisABangah-produced "Drip" racking up plenty of views and streams; the latter has around 5 million views on the YouTube audio while the video has racked up over 2 milli. Last year, Capolow dropped "Outta Sight," his most successful song to date with 2 million Spotify streams and similar views on YouTube. The SXDbeats-produced track is centered on a relationship gone sour. The same year he was featured on Kamaiyah's song "Digits;" Capolow and the former XXL Freshman have a joint project on the way. He also signed a deal with Cinematic Music Group in December of that year.
Via XXL - Source: https://www.xxlmag.com/capolow-interview-the-break/
Read More: The Break Presents: Capolow - XXL | https://www.xxlmag.com/capolow-interview-the-break/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
Age: 23
Hometown: East Oakland, Calif.
I grew up listening to: "I grew up listening to Lil Boosie. I grew up listening to a lot of ’Pac, for sure, but I think the South really took a toll on me. So, all Boosie, Webbie, Trill Fam, Lil' Phat, all of them. They really took a toll of how I do my music. iI's a West Coast and a South thing. A bunch of people from the South moved over to California, especially to the Bay Area. Without us consciously knowing them putting us on the music, they probably really put us on that music, for real, but ever since one person heard something, it's like a chain reaction.
'What's that? What's that you listening to?' So, I probably been listening to them since 2005. I got an older brother and older sister that's 10 years older than me, so, they was off that type of music, too, as well. I always have to ask, 'What's that? I ain't never heard that.' They just put me on that since then. Through middle school, high school, all that shit, I was listening to Lil Boosie in there."
My style’s been compared to: "I don't even like speaking on that, but mutherfuckers be comparing me to Fetty Wap all the time, bro. I don't sound like that nigga, bro. Man, they compare me to that nigga all the time, bro. I be blow, like bro, I do not sound like this hoe-ass nigga, bro. Fetty Wap cool and all, but, man, don't compare me to that nigga, bro. That nigga's from a whole different side of the mutherfucking world. They be comparing me to Wiz Khalifa, too. They talking about, 'This nigga look like Wiz Khalifa little brother with a Fetty Wap voice.' I'm like, 'Man, these niggas are crazy.'"
I’m going to blow up because: "I ain't going to lie, I feel like I'm just too persistent. Even if I wasn't the type of nigga to be like, 'Let's push, man,' and shit like that, I'm just going to be making this for fun. I just know my shit going to catch and shit going to pop regardless because I know I ain't going to stop making music, especially no time soon. It's what I love doing. One song going to catch and no other song catch because I'm going to keep making music."
What’s your most slept-on song, and why?: "As of now, probably, I'll say 'Mud.' [It's] a hard-ass song. I ain't going to lie, it gets bitches popping they ass and all type of shit, but it's probably slept on. To be honest, I don't even know the reason why it's slept on because every time somebody hear it, they always turn up to it. It's probably coronavirus. The mutherfuckers can't get out and go party and go club and shit, so, they really don't know the vibe of that song unless they see somebody else doing it."
My standout records to date have been: "'Outta Sight,' 'Drip,' 'Vomit' and 'Highway Robbery.' They're my biggest songs. I feel like 'Drip' is probably the biggest and 'Outta Sight' is my runner-up. 'Drip' was popping when I did the a cappella. I didn't even record the song yet. Everybody was eating that shit up when I posted it on Instagram. I feel like 'Outta Sight' is the runner-up just because of what I was talking about. Not too many niggas make breakup songs or songs about how they feeling about the next female, that she tried to call your phone and she just did you wrong type shit. I felt like if I made that type of shit and put a little bit of a player sauce into it so it won't be too sentimental and too simpy, I feel like I can make a banger, and that's what happened."
My standout moments to date have been: "Signing with Cinematic [Music Group]. I ain't going to lie. That's been a big, big, big stepping stone for me. They done helped a lot with me. They done shot major videos with RED camera shit that I ain't never seen in my life before. I'm from the hood. We still using 1080p. We still using 1080s and shit like that. Mutherfuckers not even on 4Ks and shit yet. They brought them cameras out and I'm like, 'Oh yeah, this shit changing. Y'all got me wardrobe and shit like that. Yo, this shit finna go crazy, on my mama.'"
Most people don’t know: "I skateboard. Most people don't know that I don't know shit about sports. The only thing I know about is... I know how to backflip. I know how to skateboard, but if a nigga ask me about some basketball, football and all that type of shit, I don't know. I started skating at3 years old, for real. My dad got me a little skateboard with a handle on it, and that's how I started practicing and shit, rolling down the hills and all that shit like that.
Then, this nigga bought me a real skateboard probably two years later. I was probably five, and that's when I really started going crazy. I ain't know no tricks or nothing yet, but I'm just gliding to the park like a professional. But as I got older, I started learning tricks and shit and learning how to do more on a skateboard and really going to the skate park every Friday, every Saturday type shit.'
I’m going to be the next: "Big thing!"
Follow Capolow on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Read More: The Break Presents: Capolow - XXL | https://www.xxlmag.com/capolow-interview-the-break/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
